38 deals Leumi ABL – providing confidence
Asset-based lending is increasingly seen as a versatile and predictable form of funding that can deliver much needed liquidity to growing businesses
Leumi ABL, which has a regional presence in Reading, has seen an increase in dealmaking activity since the beginning of 2011 and a changing trend in the type of opportunities coming through.
According to Jonathan Hughes, regional sales director covering the Thames Valley and south at Leumi ABL, this is a notable shift: “During the past couple of years the focus has been on refinancing as businesses struggled to access the credit and flexibility they needed from their banks and were prompted to re-think their financing arrangements. Now the levels of introductory activity for transactions are catching up with refinancing opportunities. This points to greater confidence in the business sector and it’s encouraging to see healthy businesses at last forging ahead and starting to implement acquisition and growth strategies for 2011 and beyond.“
These are ideal scenarios for ABL. Over the past year as businesses and their advisers have sought more innovative approaches to financing growth, there has been a greater awareness of the ability to use stock and machinery as solid collateral. Realising the value of those assets on the balance sheet as a valuable source of finance, Leumi ABL is seeing increasing numbers of proposals coming
through from corporate finance boutiques and venture capitalists for more multi-asset-based deals.
A recent example is the £1.25 million invoice discounting and plant and machinery facility provided to a leading specialist manufacturer of steel wires to support the company’s growth plans.
Other recently completed deals include Stehlin Hostag Ink UK, a £30m turnover distributor of inks to the packaging and printing trade. Leumi ABL put in place a £3.5m invoice discounting facility which will provide the flexibility and confidence the business needs to support further growth.
By joining forces with its parent bank, Bank Leumi (UK), Leumi ABL is well placed to support businesses with a comprehensive funding package. This was the case when a deal was recently completed with £16m turnover doormat and textiles distributor Primeur. The new £2.7m asset-based lending facility comprised a £1.5m invoice discounting line provided by Leumi ABL, supported by a further £1.2m from Bank Leumi (UK).
Hughes adds: “We take a very service-driven approach to structuring the deal, taking the time to understand the true potential of our client’s
MonsterCAM will help to keep large-scale marine work in the UK
Lee-on-the-Solent based MonsterCAM has taken delivery of a 150-ft piece of new machinery with the help of a £475,000 funding package from NatWest and asset finance company Lombard, which will enable large- scale marine work to remain in the UK.
As the largest machine of its type in the UK and the first one in independent ownership, MonsterCAM will enable British boat builders and the UK manufacturing industry as a whole, currently forced to send large CNC pattern work (plugs) abroad, to keep it within the UK. This will save time and afford firms the ability to view the plugs during build and make changes without the need for unnecessary international travel.
After Lombard provided the £405,000 funding package required to buy the machine and NatWest facilitated the remaining £70,000 needed to transport it to the UK and erect it in Lee-on-the-Solent, orders for build slots on the machine came in within a fortnight of MonsterCAM informing the marketplace of its existence.
The 150ft, five-axis, CNC milling machine can be programmed to cut out any shape required – in the case of the marine industry,
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this could be any part of a boat, including hulls, decks and superstructures, and all to an accuracy of 0.2mm. The access to the machine offers endless possibilities for industrial and commercial designers and the firm will be expanding its services to support non-marine focused industries, including wind energy and construction.
MonsterCAM is a joint venture between the directors of two companies already trading within the marine market sector: Peter Hill and Terry Stubington, directors of locally-based boat building firm Marine Concepts, and Nick Phelps of Curvature Group, a Hertfordshire- based prototyping and manufacturing company. Their vision has been supported with the help of NatWest business manager Rachel Willis, who worked with Mike Hartley from Lombard to put in place the finance required.
The MonsterCAM directors with the new machinery. From left: Nick Phelps, Mike Hartley (Lombard), Peter Hill, Rachel Willis (NatWest) and Terry Stubington
Stubington said: “Between them the directors of MonsterCAM have 50 years’ experience in the supply of plugs, mould tools and composite mouldings to companies including Sunseeker, Fairline, Princess and Sealine, and we were fully aware of the need for machinery of this type in the UK. We have such a great boat- building tradition and resource that it seemed wrong when a large part it was having to be outsourced to Europe, and in some cases Australia, not least for the time and logistic implications to clients’ build schedules.“
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – MAY 2011
Jonathan Hughes
business. We focus on providing solutions that will give our clients the confidence to exploit future growth potential.“
Details: Jonathan Hughes 0118-9001610 07584-630762
jhughes@leumiabl.co.uk www.leumiabl.co.uk
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